Tom Tjaarda. American passport, Italian heart

Every car has a face. We’re not talking about its headlights or its front grille, but the face of the man who conceived it and pencilled its lines and style. We would like to start by introducing one of these faces, belonging to Tom Tjaarda, who created a significant number of masterpieces. Tom Tjaarda's love for Italy and Europe can be clearly seen from the lines of his automobiles and from his passion for compact, agile and aerodynamic cars which were quite distant from the huge four-wheeled behemoths that were so dear to Americans. Notwithstanding his Dutch surname, Tjaarda was born in Detroit in 1934 and graduated in Architecture from the University of Michigan. During his studies, an industrial design professor who recognized his talent gave Tom the task of designing a sporty station wagon. His work was shown to Luigi Segre, then head of design at Carrozzeria Ghia. It was the beginning of a bright career that lasted almost half a century with collaborations with Ghia, Pininfarina, Fiat and Rayton Fissore until the creation of his very own independent studio. Tjaarda has designed, for most of the leading international manufacturers, more than eighty models including concept cars, show cars and production cars. Deceased in June 2017, he is widely considered one of the “masters” and is certainly one of the most characteristic designers of the second half of the last century.